Karen's Choir Trip
by Rachel D
Summary: REVISED! At age 10, Karen is part of a children's show choir. They go to compete in Washington, DC, and have many adventures along the way. No flames please! COMPLETED!
1. One Day At School

_**KAREN'S CHOIR TRIP**_

A/N: Yes, Karen is older in this story, but not much older than she is in the books. Remember Mrs. Kushel? In Karen's Surprise, her class was the one that wanted to write a Thanksgiving play.

_**CHAPTER 1: One Day At School**_

__"Karen? Hello. Earth to Karen. KAREN!"

I immediately snapped to attention when I heard my teacher Mrs. Kushel shout my name. Unlike some of the teachers I've had voer the past few years, she tends to yell, especially if you're not paying attention. Oh, before I go any farther, I should probably tell you who I am, shouldn't I?

My name's Karen Brewer, I'm ten years old and in fifth grade at Stoneybrook Academy. I'm actually supposed to be in fourth, but after I started first grade, my teacher decided I could handle second-grade work, so I was put in second grade. I have blond hair, blue eyes, a few freckles (more in the summer), and two pairs of glasses: blue ones for reading, and pink ones for the rest of the time. I've been wearing glasses since I was six, and I always somehow manage to find pink and blue frames every year. I don't wear my glasses when I'm in the shower, sleeping, or swimming. I also have a brother named Andrew, who's almost eight. He's in second grade, and the best part is, he has the same teacher I did, Ms. Colman.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Kushel," I said. What were you saying?"

"I was just saying that there's going to be a children's show choir here in town," my teacher answered. "Auditions are going to be held in the auditiorium at Stoneybrook Middle School tomorrow at 3 p.m., and they're open to kids between the ages of seven and eleven." Hannie Papadakis, one of my best friends, raised her hand. (My other best friend, Nancy Dawes, is in Mr. Haley's class. When we were younger, we called ourselves the Three Musketeers.) "Yes, Hannie?"

"What's this choir going to be called?" she asked.

"It's going to be called the Stoneybrook Kids," Mrs. Kushel said, "and it's being organized by Mr. Drubek, who's the choir director at SMS, and Jason Everett."

If I wasn't paying attention before, I sure was now! Jason is, without a doubt, the nicest guy in the world. You see, a few years ago, Andrew fell off his bike and hit his head. Jason was not only there to help, but he also comforted me. I've loved him ever since.

After the final bell rang, Hannie and I met Nancy in the hall. The three of us were talking excitedly about the announcement that day. "So, are you going to try out?" Nancy asked.

"Well, yeah!" I said. "Isn't everybody?"

"I know I am!" Hannie agreed.

Just then, I heard a voice calling, "Karen! Hey, Karen, wait up!"

My friends and I looked at each other with annouyed expressions on our faces. That could only be one person: Andrew. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's not so shy anymore, but I wish he wouldn't share it with the world.

"Hi, Andrew," I said, managing to be cheerful.

"Hi," he smiled. Even from a distance, it's not easy to miss the space where his two front teeth used to be. And if he even _thinks _about singing that horrible Christmas song about his two front teeth, I swear I'll duct-tape his mouth shut! On the upside, unlike most kids with teeth like that, he doesn't lisp or spit when he talks. "Did you hear about the show choir?"

"Yes, we know," I told him.

"I'm definitely trying out!" he said ecstatically.

"Well, good luck," Nancy said. Just then, our bus arrived, and we got on. As the bus pulled away from the curb, I wondered how many of us would be chosen, and hoped I'd be one of them.


	2. Here A Family, There A Family

_**CHAPTER 2: Here A Family, There A Family**_

__Andrew and I got off the bus and headed toward the little house, Mom's house. When we came into the kitchen, we found her cleaning off the stove top. Hi, Mom!" I called.

"Hi, kids," she answered. "How was school today?"

"Oh, it was great, Mommy!" Andrew said excitedly. "We just found out there's going to be a kids' show choir being put together!"

"Really?"

I nodded. "You see, it's for kids between the ages of seven and eleven, and get this: Jason's going to be one of the people in charge!"

"Wow, that's great!" Mom commented.

"I have to call Kristy!" And I hurried into the living room.

Well, I think it's time to explain a few things here. You see, my parents were once happily married when they had Andrew and me, but when we were really little, they got a divorce. Of course, being as young as we were, our parents had to reassure us quite a bit that even though they still loved us very much, and always would, they just didn't love each other anymore. Daddy stayed at the big house, because it's where he grew up, and Mom, Andrew, and I moved into this house. (We spend alternating months at each house, and sometimes two months at one house, so we're never at the same house every year for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.) Soon after that, Mom met and married Seth, who's our stepfather, and Daddy met and married Elizabeth, who's our stepmother. Elizabeth also has four kids from her first marriage, so I have three stepbrothers and a stepsister. First of all, there's Charlie, who's twenty, and Sam, who's eighteen. They attend NYU, where Charlie's a junior and Sam's a freshman. Kristy is sixteen, a junior at Stoneybrook High School, and to this day, is still the president of the Baby-sitters Club. I think it would be so cool to belong to that, because I've seen how much fun those girls have. (Just be glad I didn't say gigundo!) David Michael just turned eleven, and is in fifth grade at Stoneybrook Elementary School.

Daddy and Elizabeth also adopted Emily from Vietnam when she was two. Now she's almost six, and is in the afternoon kindergarten at Stoneybrook Academy. Daddy works at home in the mornings, then drops Emily off at school on his way to the office, then Elizabeth comes home in time to get Emily off the bus. Anyway, despite only hearing Vietnamese for the first two years of her life, she now speaks perfect English. Sometimes I wonder if she's bilingual, or will be when she grows up, with the only languages she'll know being English and Vietnamese. Oh, well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

I also have pets at both houses. At Moms, there's Seth's cat Rocky, and his dog Midgie, as well as my rat, Emily Junior (guess who I named her after?), who travels back and forth with me. At Daddy's, there's David Michael's dog Shannon, and their cat Pumpkin. She came to live there shortly before Boo-Boo, Daddy's old cat, passed away.

In fact, since Andrew and I have two of almost everything, I used to call us Karen and Andrew Two-Two. I remembered that when I was in second grade, Ms. Colman read a book to our class called _Jacob Two-Two Meets The Hooded Fang. _Well, guess what? Andrew has now heard that story, too, so now _he _calls us that. Surprised? I'm not.

Anyway, back to me. I picked up the phone in the living room and dialed the big-house number. "Hello?" Elizabeth answered.

"Hi, it's Karen. Is Kristy home?"

"No, Karen, she's at the Perkins'," Elizabeth answered. "Can I take a message?"

"Guess what? They're putting together a kids' show choir!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, that's wonderful! David Michael just told me, and he's planning to try out, too!"

That didn't really surprise me, but I still thought I'd offer my support. "Oh, good for him," I said. "Tell him I'll see him there, okay?"

"You got it. And I'll tell Kristy you called, too."

"Thanks." And we hung up.

It was going to be just like the good old days again!


	3. Auditions

_**CHAPTER 3: Auditions**_

__The next afternoon, Hannie, Nancy, Andrew, and I arrived at SMS. We saw several kids that I knew from school, as well as the big-house neighborhood. One of the kids I recognized right away was Druscilla Porter, or Dru, as we call her. Her grandmother lives next door to the big house. I used to believe that she was a witch named Morbidda Destiny, but I've long since outgrown those beliefs. Dru, on the other hand, hasn't; and chances are, she never will.

Anyway, we saw several of my former second-grade classmates, about half of which are now in my class: Natalie Springer, Pamela Harding, Bobby Gianelli, Hank Reubens, and Rick Torres. We also saw Scott Hsu, who also lives in Daddy's neighborhood, but like Dru, he goes to Stoneybrook Day School. In fact, way back when, Scott and Rick had been Hannie's and my pretend husbands. Now, I guess you could say they're sort of our boyfriends.

The four of us sat in the front row on the left side of the auditorium, where we saw several more kids arriving, including David Michael and Jackie Rodowsky, better known as the Walking Disaster to the BSC.

Promptly at 3:00, as soon as all of the kids had arrived, Jason and Mr. Drubek stood in front of the group to get our attention. The first thing I noticed was Jason's hair. It was still the same beautiful jet-black, but it was cut and styled like George Clooney's during his _ER_ days. When I first met Jason, his hair was long enough to be pulled back into a ponytail. Other than that, he was still cute.

"Welcome, everybody," Mr. Drubek said. "For those of you who don't know, I'm Mr. Drubek, and this is Jason Everett." He was interrupted by applause from me, my brothers, my two best friends, and the _Carnival _kids: Jackie, Pamela, Rick, Natalie, and Rosie. "Jason will be my assistant," he explained.

"Okay, I'd like all seven-year-olds up on stage, please," Jason said. Andrew went up on stage with a large group of kids, including Johnny Hobart, Jamie Newton, and Jenny Prezzioso. Andrew sang "One Song" from _Snow White. _He did a good job, even if I could barely hear him.

After they finished singing, they joined Kristy's friend Jessi Ramsey in the lobby to learn a dance routine. They went through the same thing with the eight-year-olds, which included Claire Pike, and the nine-year-olds, which included Rosie Wilder.

Finally, they called the ten-year-olds up on stage. I went up there with my friends, my former second-grade classmates, Dru, Jackie, and a few other kids.

I stood between Hannie and Nancy. We were asked to step forward, say our name and age, and sing a song. When it was my turn, I said, "My name is Karen Brewer, and I'm ten years old." Then I sang "Maybe" from _Annie. _Of all of the songs from that show, that one's always been one of my personal favorites.

After the ten-year-olds finished, we headed to the lobby. On the way, I saw a group of eleven-year-olds go up on sage, which included Scott Hsu, Nick Pike, Becca Ramsey, Jessi's sister, and David Michael.

"Okay, everybody," Jessi said as soon as we'd assembled in the lobby. "I need you to watch me very carefully here, because after the last group finishes, we'll all be doing the routine together onstage."

Then Jessi showed us all these steps, turns, and kicks. I thought they looked pretty cool. When we tried them, some of us—namely Natalie and Jackie—had a hard time keeping up. In fact, Jackie tripped over his own foot and fell right in front of Natalie, who then fell right on top of him. It was like watching a _Three Stooges _video without actually renting one. Then, to top it all off, Pamela almost collided with me when she was doing one of the turns. If she'd been a few inches closer, she would've knocked my glasses right off. "Hey, watch it!" she exclaimed.

"Me? You're the one who almost hit me in the face!" I yelled. "And if anything happens to my glasses, guess who's paying for them?"

"All right, settle down, you two," Jessi told us. "Pamela, watch what you're doing, and Karen, if you're so worried about your glasses, I'd suggest either taking them off or getting a strap for them."  
I did have a strap, but they were on my other glasses. Still, I thought it was a good idea.

Finally, all of the kids were called up on stage. After we all did the routine together, Jessi put us in groups so she could see how well we all worked together. As luck would have it, I was in Pamela's group, so I made sure I was nowhere near her in the line.

"All right, that's it for today," Mr. Drubek said at last. "Jason and I have your audition forms, and we'll put the list up at all the schools first thing Tuesday morning. You all did very well, but we only need twenty people. Thank you very much."

While everyone was starting to leave, I ran over to Jason and hugged him. "So, what did you think?" I asked hopefully.

"You were all great, Karen," he said. "I hope you make it."

"Thanks," I said. I was so glad to have someone like Jason rooting for me.


	4. Who Made the Cut?

_**CHAPTER 4: Who Made The Cut?**_

That evening, the four of us were sitting around the kitchen table having dinner, lasagna and garlic bread. In case you're wondering, along with Nannie's Swedish meatballs, lasagna is one of my all-time favorite foods.

"So, how did the audition go?" Mom asked, taking a bite of garlic bread.

"Oh, it was great," I said. "I think both of us did really well."

"I know _you _did," Andrew said doubtfully.

"What do you mean?" Seth asked, helping himself to another piece of garlic bread.

"Well," Andrew said, taking a sip of milk, "I had a little trouble with the dance routine, and when it was my turn to sing, Mr. Drubek said he couldn't really hear me. And he was in the front row, too. I just don't think I made it."

"Oh, you did all right, Andrew," I said as I patted his arm. "I'm sure you'll make it."

"I don't know."

"Hey, remember when you played Tiny Tim in _A Christmas Carol _at the Community Center when you were four?" I reminded him. "You were great! And besides, your part was a million times better than mine."

That managed to cheer Andrew up a little. "Thanks, Karen," he said.

"I have an idea," Seth spoke up. "Since Monday is a holiday, how about if the four of us go to the old Stoneybrooke Village for the afternoon?"

"That's a great idea!" I said excitedly. I'd been there on a field trip last year, and it was a lot of fun. Besides, I would be a great way for Andrew and me to keep our minds off whether or not we were in the Stoneybrook Kids.

The following Tuesday after Memorial Day, my friends and I were on our way to lunch when we passed by Mrs. Titus' office. Sure enough, there was the list. When we got a closer look, here's what we saw:

**THE STONEYBROOK KIDS**

**AGE 7 GROUP:****Andrew Brewer, Johnny Hobart, Jamie Newton, Jenny Prezzioso**

**AGE 8 & 9**** GROUP:****Claire Pike, Rosie Wilder**

**AGE 10 GROUP:****Karen Brewer, Nancy Dawes, Bobby Gianelli, Pamela Harding, Hannie Papadakis, Druscilla Porter, Hank Reubens, Jackie Rodowsky, Natalie Springer, Rick ****Torres**

**AGE 11 GROUP:****Scott Hsu, Nick Pike, Becca Ramsey, David Michael Thomas**

**ALTERNATES:**** Tim Hsu, Nina Marshall, Myriah Perkins, Archie Rodowsky**

The three of us just stood there, our mouths hanging open, and our eyes as big as frisbees. We just couldn't believe we'd made it. I was particularly surprised that Andrew was in it, too, but I wasn't surprised that Pamela and David Michael were as well.

Just then, Andrew happened to be walking by. He came up to look at the list, and gasped. "I don't believe it," he whispered. "I made it."

The next thing I knew, Andrew was yanking on my arm and saying, "Karen, we made it!"

We all looked at each other, then at the list, then back to each other, struggling to get a single word out. Instead, this is what came out: "AAAAAAHHH!"


	5. The First Day

_**CHAPTER 5: The Next Day**_

__The next day after school, Seth picked up up and took us to the Y, where rehearsals for the Stoneybrook Kids were going to be held. Like we usually did, we moved Seth's blueprints to the very back of the van. On the upside, there wasn't a lot of sawdust and tools lying around. That's because Mom got so tired of the mess, she gave him a hand-vac for his birthday last year.

"I hope the songs we're singing aren't too hard," Andrew commented as we prepared to turn the corner to enter the parking lot.

"Look, whatever you're singing, I'm sure you'll do a good job," Seth reassured us. "Well, here we are."

"See you later," Nancy called as we got out of the van, and the four of us headed to the front door. On the way, we met Kristy. Her hair was wet and she was carrying her shoes, so she'd obviously been at the pool.

"Hi, you guys," she smiled.

"Hi," I answered.

"Hey, I heard that you made it into the Stoneybrook Kids," she said, giving each of us her signature arm-punch. "Way to go!"

"Thanks, Kristy," Andrew said.

"Well, I have to get to Mary Anne's house," she said. "David Michael's already inside. See you later."

She hurried to her car, which had been Sam's, until he left for college last fall. It's a shiny brick-red Jaguar with a black all-leather interior. When Sam graduated high school, Daddy and Elizabeth had bought it at the same dealership in Stamford that Jason's motor scooter had come from. Jason once told us that he'd gotten it from his mom and stepdad for Christmas when he was thirteen, but he sold it last winter when he got a truck as an early eighteenth birthday present. I think it was nice of Sam to give it to Kristy, but part of me still thinks he was out of his mind for doing so. I mean, that car was his pride and joy, just like the Junk Bucket had been Charlie's.

When we got to the aerobics room, I saw that Mr. Drubek, Jason, Bebe, and Jessi were already there, as well as some of the kids who had made it. As we usually did, the four of us ran up and hugged Jason. "Hi," he said. "You guys all set?"

I grinned and nodded. This was going to be so much fun.

A little while later, Jenny Prezzioso arrived. She was wearing a white Minnie Mouse T-shirt and blue gym shorts with white stripes. I thought it was nice to see her in something besides a dress, to tell you the truth. Thankfully, her mom no longer dresses her like every day was Easter Sunday. (HALLELUJAH!) Unfortunately, she's still her same loud, opinionated self. Oh, well. Two out of three isn't bad, I guess.

"An-_drewww!" _she said in a sing-song voice. My poor brother just shut his eyes and let out an embarrassed groan. In case you haven't guessed, Jenny has a really big crush on him.

"Hi, Jenny," he said, trying to sound polite. If you'd seen him that day, you'd be able to tell that he wasn't a very happy camper. Gee, I wonder why?

"Are you looking forward to this?" Jenny asked.

"Oh, yeah," Andrew admitted, cheering up a little. And in a way, he was, mostly because he was glad to be in the Stoneybrook Kids, so he decided to be a good sport and ignore Jenny making eyes at him.

After everyone had arrived, Mr. Drubek and Jason stood in front of us to get our attention. "Welcome, everybody," Mr. Drubek said. "I'm glad to see all of you, and I can tell that you're going to be a great group to work with. Now, as some of you may know, Jason Everett..." As soon as Mr. Drubek said those two words, my friends and I were staring dreamily at Jason. "...is going to be helping you with the music, and Jessi Ramsey and Bebe Everett will be helping with the choreography. Well, let's get started, shall we?"

Then Jason stepped up to the front of the group. "Okay. First of all, I'd just like to say that it's good to see all of you here," he began. "And just so you'll know, Mr. Drubek and I have given this a lot of thought over the past couple of days, and we've decided on music from the '70s, which is basically the stuff our parents grew up listening to, so a lot of you have probably never heard of it. Some of the songs we'll be doing are from artists like the Jackson 5, Earth, Wind & Fire, Three Dog Night, and the Captain & Tennille."

Huh? Who _are_ these people? I'd never heard of these artists before, but I was pretty sure I'd enjoy the music anyway.

So far, the Stoneybrook Kids were off to a pretty good start.


	6. Rehearsals

_**CHAPTER 6: Rehearsals**_

__Every day after school that week, we went to the Y to rehearse. We had dance rehearsals on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Before each one, Jessi showed us some basic stretching exercises. She explained that if we didn't stretch, we could pull a muscle while we're dancing, and that's really painful.

We had singing rehearsals every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which also happen to be BSC meeting days. Even though the music we were doing was way before our time, we were able to get used to it.

One day, we found out that some of us would be singing lead on some of the songs we were doing. Of course, we had to audition for the parts we wanted. The part I auditioned for was the high part in "I'll Be There" by the Jackson 5. Just as I'd expected, some of the other girls, including Pamela, tried out. In fact, while Pamela was singing, she had a smug look on her face, which clearly said, "You don't have a ghost of a prayer in getting this part. I'm going to bury each and every one of you."

At the end of rehearsal that day, Jason stood in front of the group to get our attention. Right away, I knew what he was about to tell us.

"All right," he began. "Before I tell you who got which parts, I'd just like to say that you were all excellent. Mr. Drubek and I have given this a lot of thought, and here's what we've decided."

Did I call that or what?

"First of all, on 'ABC', Andrew Brewer and David Michael Thomas." Well, both of my brothers were glad to hear this, and there was cheering and high-fiving all around.

"When you're quite finished," Jason told them. I could tell he was happy for them, too, but he really needed them to quiet down so he could finish. They pulled themselves together and sat down. "Okay, on 'I'll Be There', Karen Brewer and Rick Torres."

I was just delighted when I heard this. Rick and I smiled at each other, and I also smiled at Jason. I was so happy that I didn't notice Pamela giving me the finger. Jealous, perhaps?

"And last, but not least, on the piano is a list of songs that will be performed as solos," Jason continued. "Those of you who are interested are welcome to sign up."

Well, needless to say, there was a mad dash for the piano. The only ones who weren't among that dash were my brothers, Nick, Nancy, Rick, and I.

Way to go, Karen!" Andrew said excitedly as he hugged me.

"You, too," I smiled. "You guys are going to do a great job."

"Thanks, Professor," David Michael said, giving me a Kristy arm-punch.

"Oh, Nancy and I talked to Jason and Mr. Drubek about singing a duet," Nick said.

"Cool," I said. "What are you singing?"

"Don't Go Breakin' My Heart'," Nancy answered. "Mom once told me that was one of the songs they played at her Bat Mitzvah."

"Really?" I asked. "Awesome!"

"Yup."

I was really looking forward to when we'd get to perform.


	7. The Concert

_**CHAPTER 7: The Concert**_

__The last day of school came and went. I was sad to be leaving Stoneybrook Academy, but at the same time, I was looking forward to going to Kelsey Middle School. It would be a giant step for all of us, being in a whole 'nother school, and one without a playground, mind you. But at least we'd be going through it together.

Anyway, we'd been working really hard at rehearsals. Jessi was watching us very carefully as we went over "Proud Mary", our opening number.

"Pamela, smile bigger if you're going to fake it, honey," Jessi called out. Apparently, Pamela was still a little miffed over not getting the part I did in "I'll Be There". I could understand that. I mean, if I didn't get a part, I'd be spitting nails, too. But still, she got to choose a song to sing all by herself, so why was she complaining?

After rehearsal that day, Mr. Drubek made an announcement. "All right, everybody," he said. "As you already know, our concert will be next Friday at 8 p.m. in the auditorium at Stoneybrook Elementary School. Since your costumes aren't ready just yet, everyone is asked to wear brightly-colored T-shirts—and they _must _be a solid color, by the way—jeans, and sneakers. Also, I'd like for you to be there no later than 7:15. Finally, just so you'll know, it's going to be videotaped and sent to Washington, DC, to see if we qualify for the international competition, which will be held during the first week of July."

All of us were murmuring excitedly, and hoped that we'd qualify. There was no doubt in my mind that we'd not only be invited to compete, but also that we'd win.

That evening at Daddy's house, my brothers and I showed everyone what we'd been working on. They loved it, especially Andrew's spoken part in "ABC".

"Sit down, girl!" he shouted into the flashlight he was using for a microphone. "I think I _love _ya!" And on "love ya", he pointed directly at Emily, who giggled and blushed. And I mean _blushed. _I guess she was really flattered to hear that.

After that, we showed them our finale. One of the steps we did was this really cool ripple-effect turn that Jessi had taught us. Andrew went first, then David Michael, then me. The one thing I remember the most about that was seeing David Michael's rattail sail up behind him like a kite. Thankfully, it only comes down to where the shoulder meets the neck, because if it was any longer, it would've gotten me right in the face.

When we finished, Daddy, Elizabeth, Kristy, and Emily applauded and cheered. "That was great, kids!" Elizabeth said ecstatically. I'm surprised we could hear her over Kristy's whistling.

"Outstanding," Daddy agreed. "You're really going to bring the house down."

"Again, again!" Emily squealed, clapping and bouncing on Kristy's lap. "Do it again, _please?"_

"Okay, sure," I said, then I started singing, _"Left a good job in the city..."_

"Okay, Karen, that'll do," Daddy laughed, getting up from his chair and grabbing my shoulders. "You kids are going to do a great job, but right now, it's time to get ready for bed."

I couldn't wait for the concert. This was going to be the longest week of my life.

Well, the night of the concert finally arrived. Since we were supposed to wear solid colors, I'd chosen my brightest red T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and _really _white Chuck Taylor high-tops. The shoes were the best part, because not only did Elizabeth bleach them, but the laces were red, to match my shirt. Charlie once told me that if there was ever a power failure, my shoes would give us all the light we needed.

When my friends and I arrived at SES, we got a good look at the set. It was painted in all these pale, psychedelic colors, and had "STONEYBROOK KIDS" in big black letters that were outlined in blue and white Christmas lights. We just couldn't stop staring at it.

A minute or so later, the Everetts arrived. I started to make a beeline for Jason, but stopped when I saw how sluggish he looked. "Are you all right, Jason?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

"I really don't know, honestly," he answered, sitting in a nearby folding chair. "I woke up this morning with an upset stomach, and I've been trying to ignore it all day."

"Uh-oh," I said worriedly, laying a hand on his forehead, which didn't really feel warm at all. I suspected that something was wrong, but I didn't know what. The next thing I knew, Jason was feeling my forehead, and then Hannie's, just to be silly. Before too long, we were all feeling each other's foreheads, and all the while, we were trying not to laugh.

"I think you're all coming down with something," Bobby commented as he passed by.

"Oh, it's not that bad, really," Jason reassured us. "It comes and goes. I took some Maalox before I left the apartment, so I should be all right for now."

"Okay," I said, only half-believing him. "But you take care of yourself, you hear me?" As soon as I said that, I thought, _Oh, no, I'm turning into Mom!_

"I will, love," he smiled, patting my shoulder. "And Karen? Break a leg."

"Thanks," I smiled, then ran off to join the others.

I really hoped he was right.

The concert got off to a great start. _"Big wheels keep on turnin', Proud Mary keep on burnin'," _we sang, our smiles bright, our voices nice and loud, and our moves perfectly synchronized, thanks to Jessi. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised she wasn't banging a big wooden stick on the floor during rehearsals! If she had, I wondered if she would've accidentally hit her foot at _least _once.

If you were to ask me what my favorite song was, I'd tell you that it was "September" by this group called Earth, Wind & Fire, namely the chorus, which goes, _"Bah-de-ah, say do you remember..." _It sounded really silly, and reminded me of those campfire songs we sang the three summers I went to Camp Mohawk: once when I was six, once when I was seven, and then again last year. But that wasn't the only reason why I loved it so much. The real reason is because it's so high, and considering the fact that David Michael's voice is _just starting _to change, I'm impressed that he was able to get through it. I'm also surprised that no one's sung "Time To Change" to him yet! (Okay, all together now: _"When it's time to change, then it's time to CHANGE!" _or "Don't worry, Greg. I'm sure by Friday, my voice will be just SWELL!" Take your pick.)

The highlight of the concert, in my opinion, was "I'll Be There". While we were rehearsing this song, Jessi had paired us up into couples. I was with Rick, of course, because we were singing lead. Hannie was with Scott, and to no one's surprise, Jenny was with Andrew. Fortunately, he's not embarrassed by her anymore. Anyway, toward the end of the second verse, the other kids gathered behind Rick and me. Some were holding hands (Hannie and Scott), some were linking arms (Jenny and Andrew), and some had an arm around each others' shoulders (Claire and Jamie), waists (Nick and Nancy) or both (Dru and Hank). The best part was when we were all singing the chorus and swaying back and forth. That, combined with the harmonies we'd worked so tirelessly on, not to mention my singing, gave me chills all over my body. When I looked out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Pamela had laid her head on Bobby's shoulder. I assumed she'd gotten over not getting the part I did. It was nice to see, considering the fact that when Rick and I had our "wedding" in second grade, Bobby actually kissed Pamela and really grossed her out. I'm surprised she didn't clock him; and to this day, I still wish the other kids had played "The Wedding March" on kazoos, and that Audrey had said "holy mattress money". (I know, I've seen _Full House _too many times, right?)

The song ended with all of us joining hands and raising them up to about shoulder-level. It was a real touching moment, if you'll pardon the expression.

Then it was time for the finale. After the guitar chord, we all dropped hands and shouted, "ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!" Then we all started laughing, cheering, and whooping it up. Hank and Becca rushed up front and did some break-dancing moves. Claire did a pirouette and landed in a split, even though Nick and Nancy had to help her up. Then it was time for my brothers and me to do our ripple-effect turn. This time, David Michael's rattail landed right under his nose.

Well, immediately after we finished performing, every single person in that auditorium jumped up, applauding and whistling up a storm. As the curtain closed, I thought, _Tonight was the best night of my life._


	8. Washington, Here We Come!

_**CHAPTER 8: Washington, Here We Come!**_

__A week later, we got a phone call from Mr. Drubek. "I'm calling a meeting and rehearsal for 1:00 tomorrow afternoon," he told us. We told him we'd be there.

After we hung up, Andrew and I looked at each other. _A meeting AND rehearsal? _we thought. That could only mean we'd qualified. I couldn't wait to find out for sure.

"Does this mean what I think it does?" Andrew asked hopefully.

"I think so," I answered.

Mom was really pleased when we told her. "I thought you'd make it," she said. At that moment, I knew she was right, but I still wanted to hear it from Mr. Drubek himself.

The next afternoon, we arrived at the Y. When I entered the aerobics room, I saw Bebe sitting on the floor with her back to one of the mirrors, keeping an eye on the Prezzioso girls, who were playing in a nearby corner. I didn't see Jason, though, and I wondered what the deal was.

"Hi, Bebe," I said. "Where's Jason?"

"He was feeling a little under the weather, so I offered to take his place," she answered.

That's when I knew something was wrong. I'd had that gut-feeling ever since the night of the concert, but when I saw Mr. Drubek enter the room and take his place at the front, as well as the last of the kids arriving, I put my worries aside and waited for his announcement.

"Can I have your attention, please?" he called out. Everyone quieted down, and we all had our eyes on Mr. Drubek, knowing what he was about to say.

"Okay," he began. "Yesterday morning, I got a phone call from the lady who is the head of the National Show Choir Competition Committee. She has reviewed our tape, loves it, and wants us to come to Washington to compete. We'll be leaving on Thursday morning and competing on Sunday. There will be an awards dinner the following Saturday, so be sure to bring some nice clothes for that, and we'll be coming home the day after that."

Upon hearing that, all of us started squealing, whispering excitedly, and fidgeting like crazy. I'm still amazed that we weren't cheering and jumping all over the room like a bunch of baboons. (We saved that for after rehearsal.)

I couldn't believe it. I'd known all along, since Mr. Drubek's phone call the day before, that we'd be going to Washington. I also hoped Jason would be well enough to go with us.

The following Thursday, we had to be at the Y at 6 a.m. to get on the bus. When I got out of Seth's van, I saw the Everetts' SUV pull up. They were going to load our equipment into their U-Haul, then Steve and Bebe were going to follow the bus. I was really excited to be going, but when I saw Jason, I noticed that he looked even worse than he did on the night of the concert.

As the bus left Stoneybrook, I noticed, from where I was sitting—across the aisle from Jason and Diann—that he'd fallen asleep with his head on her shoulder. I naturally assumed he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Actually, none of us did, so I wasn't too worried.

In retrospect, I guess I should've been worried, because when we crossed the state line from Connecticut to New York, I saw Diann gently stroking Jason's forehead, then she paused and laid the back of her hand on the spot. "He feels warm," she said, then gesturing toward her purse, she continued, "Karen, honey, I've got a little first-aid pouch in my purse. Could you get it for me? I don't want to wake Jason."

"Sure," I answered, reaching into her purse, pulling out the pouch, and handing it to her, being careful not to wake Jason.

She unzipped the pouch, took out the little thermometer strip, and laid it across Jason's forehead. About thirty seconds later, she took a look at it. "A hundred and _one!" _she exclaimed.

I was just as shocked as Diann shocked when I heard this. I knew Jason wasn't feeling well, but I never imagined it was this serious.

Around noon, we arrived in Washington, DC. I saw Diann gently shaking Jason's shoulder and saying, "Jason? Wake up, love. We're almost there."

Jason mumbled a response, then opened his eyes and sat up. By the time we arrived at Rax, he was trying to go back to sleep. "Jason? We're here," Kristy said as she and Diann helped him to his feet and off the bus.

When we got inside, I saw Jason sit down at one of the tables and lay his head on his arms. That's when I knew something was seriously wrong, because he wouldn't have anything to eat or drink.

After I finished eating, I followed Bebe to the ladies' room, because I really needed to talk to her.

When we got to the bathroom, I checked under the stalls to make sure no one would be eavesdropping. After I was sure it was all clear, I stepped into the stall next to Bebe. "Hey, Bebe?" I called out.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Is Jason all right? I've noticed that he hasn't been feeling well since the night of the concert. He said something about his stomach bothering him, but I don't know. He also slept the whole way here, and didn't eat any lunch."

"Yeah, I've noticed that, too," Bebe said. I heard her toilet flush just then. "He ate dinner last night, then went to bed early. He didn't eat any breakfast this morning, though."

"Oh, no," I said, opening my stall door and stepping out. That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks: Jason was sick. And if so, then why didn't he just stay home?

When we came out of the bathroom, we almost collided with David Michael out in the hall, and he looked like he was going to start freaking out any second. "I don't know what's wrong with Jason," he said worriedly. "He's puking all over in there."

That's when Jason came shuffling out of the mens' room, and he looked really awful. His face was a horrible shade of green and white, and his eyes were bleary and barely open. He started to fall, but Bebe and I caught him and slowly lowered him to the floor. It's a wonder he didn't crush us to death, now that I think about it.

I don't know why, but I remembered seeing Kristy and Jason in their school play, _Inherit the Wind, _last spring. There was a part where Jason had to collapse onstage. (I know this, because I once helped Kristy with her lines.) I knew he was acting then, but I also knew that this time, he really _was _sick.

Anyway, I had learned how to check someone's pulse in health class last fall. Mrs. Kushel told us that the pulse can be checked in the neck or the wrist, which we practiced on each other, so that's just what I did. I laid two fingers on the side of Jason's neck and checked his pulse, which I found to be weak and fast. Personally, I think all fifth-graders should learn to do that.

"Okay," Bebe said, unbuttoning Jason's shirt. "Karen, you get Diann. DM, you stay here and help me lean him against the wall." For someone who had just seen her brother collapse, she sounded pretty calm. I guess being a BSC member teaches you how to, as Daddy would put it, let wiser and cooler heads prevail.

I ran off to find Diann, and told her what had happened. While we were returning to them, I saw a man and woman in light blue short-sleeved shirts with an ambulance logo on the right sleeve. I immediately recognized them as EMTs. "Wait here for a sec," I told Diann.

I ran up to their table. "Excuse me," I said. "A friend of mine passed out in the hallway near the restrooms. Could you please take a look at him?"

The man gave some instructions to his partner, then got up and followed us back to where Jason was. "What's wrong with him?" he asked.

"I don't know," Diann answered. "My son hasn't been feeling well lately, and this morning when we were travelling from Connecticut, I noticed that he felt really warm. I took his temperature, and it was 101."

When we got back, we saw that Bebe and David Michael had managed to pull Jason into a sitting position and put his head between his legs. The EMT took one look at Jason, then returned to his partner. Within a few minutes, they returned with a stretcher and their equipment. The woman put an oxygen mask over Jason's nose and mouth, and contacted the hospital on her walkie-talkie while the man checked Jason's vital signs. Then they helped Jason onto the stretcher and started to wheel him out.

I thought for sure that some of the little kids, namely Andrew, would cry at this sight. I know I would have, if I were them. In fact, when Jason was wheeled past me, I laid a hand on his forehead, which felt pretty hot.

"Karen," he said, weakly, grimacing in pain. "Karen, come here." He motioned for me to come closer to him, which made him look like that one guy from _The Godfather. _ I knew that movie, because once, my friends, the BSC members and I had a big sleepover, and that was the movie we'd watched. (Don't ask.) But just the same, I leaned over so I could hear him.

"It's all right," he whispered, his voice slightly muffled behind the oxygen mask. "I'm going to be all right."

"Okay," I said, patting his hand. I was still pretty shaken up by what I'd seen, but I still believed him.

' "And Karen?"

"Hmm?"

"Go get 'em, love." Smiling bravely, he gave the thumbs-up sign, and the EMTs wheeled him away.

Bebe and I returned to our parents, and she told her dad what had happeend. "Take the kids and our equipment to the hotel," Steve said, handing the SUV keys to Mr. Drubek. "We'll go to the hospital with Jason, and call as soon as we find out anything."

Mr. Drubek nodded and took the keys, then motioned for us to stay back and let the EMTs through.

They loaded Jason into the back of the ambulance. Diann sat next to the driver, and Steve and Bebe sat in the back with Jason.

As the ambulance drove away, we were all hoping Jason would be all right.


	9. What's Wrong With Jason?

_**CHAPTER 9: What's Wrong With Jason?**_

__Almost as soon as the ambulance left, we got on the bus to go to the hotel. During the ride, I sat beside Kristy. Andrew and David Michael sat in front of us, Mom and Seth sat behind us, and Hannie and Nancy sat across the aisle from us. All the while, I couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. I was also angry with myself for not figuring it out sooner.

"He's _got _to be all right, Kristy," I said, trying my hardest to keep from crying. "I couldn't stand it if anything happened to him. God, why didn't I figure it out sooner?"

"Listen to me, Karen," Kristy said, turning to face me with her hands on my shoulders. "He's going to be all right. And you shouldn't feel too bad about this, because there was no way you could've known."

"Yeah, you're probably right," I agreed, laying my head on Kristy's shoulder. As we rode the rest of the way in silence, I felt a little better after hearing Kristy say that.

Later that day, just as the sun was setting, we arrived at the hotel, which happened to be right across the street from Watergate. And let me tell you, it was really impressive. I'd only seen pictures of it in History class when we learned about the scandal from 1972, which soon led to Nixon's resignation—and it was also mentioned in _Forrest Gump. _However, seeing it up close and personal was an entirely different kind of experience, altogether.

We got off the elevator on the fifth floor, and Mom, Seth, Andrew and I followed the one of bellhops to our room. On the way down the hall, I was remembering how back in the old days, one of my favorite games to play at Daddy's had been "Let's All Come In". It's a hotel game where the players pretend that they're guests at a fancy hotel. We had silly character names, like Mrs. Mysterious, Darry Blueberry, Steve Stringbean, and well, you get the idea, right? The oldest player—usually Kristy or David Michael—was the bellhop/desk clerk; and the youngest player—Andrew, then Emily—was usually given the animal or child roles. By the way, that game still gets played at that house every now and then.

When the bellhop opened the door to our room, and we got our first glimpse, I thought it looked like a parlor suite on the _Titanic. _There was a wet bar, a big-screen TV/VCR, two queen-size beds with those little chocolate mints on the pillows, and a computer with Internet access. When I went into the bathroom, I was even more impressed. The floor and ceiling were both gleaming white, there was pink and gold wallpaper on the walls, fuzzy pink rugs on the floor, and also had a bathtub and shower stall. There was a 21-inch plasma TV on the wall, as well as shiny brass swan-neck faucets on the tub and sink, not to mention a fully-stocked medicine cabinet. It really looked fantastic, and it sure beat those dumpy little rooms at Motel 6 any day.

"Mommy, Seth, we promise not to spend $967 on room service," Andrew said. We all got a good laugh, and I really needed one, after what I'd just witnessed with Jason collapsing.

Just then, the phone rang. My first thought was of Jason. Seth must have read my mind, because instead of picking up the receiver, he pressed the speakerphone button. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hey, it's Steve. Listen, Jason just came out of surgery twenty minutes ago. Apparently, he needed his appendix out. And just in time, too. The doctor said that if they'd waited another minute or so to operate, his appendix would've exploded and made him even sicker."

Mom, Andrew, and I gasped, then sighed with relief when Steve told us that. That was all it took for me to know that Jason was going to be all right.

"Thanks for calling, Steve," Seth said. "We'll let the others know right away." And he hung up.

I really hoped Jason would be released from the hospital in time for the competition, which wasa three days away. I think we all were.


	10. At the Hospital

_**CHAPTER 10: At The Hospital**_

__The next morning over breakfast, Bebe told me about what happened when Jason woke up from surgery. "Do you want to know what his first words were when he woke up?" she asked, taking a bite of toast.

"What?"

"He said, and I quote, 'Good morning, starshine. The Earth says hello'."

I was taking a sip of milk when she said that, and I almost blew it out of my nose and all over the table. That was the funniest thing I'd ever heard. I was laughing so hard, it's a wonder I didn't choke.

"You know," I said asoon as I'd pulled myself together, "what surprises me is that he came on this trip if he was so sick."

"He insisted on it," Bebe explained, "because he'd never been to Washington before, but that was before we found out that it was going to be on TV."

I nodded. That made perfect sense.

"Anyway," Bebe went on, "they have visiting hours for kids ten and under from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon."

"That's great," I said. "I can't wait to see him."

An hour or so after lunch, we were in the hotel ballroom, and Bebe was watching us rehearse while Jessi and Mr. Drubek were out. To be honest with you, the good news about Jason's condition was just the confidence-booster we needed.

After we finished rehearsing, we saw Jessi and Mr. Drubek returning, and they each had a canvas garment bag draped over one arm.

"The costumes!" Claire squealed.

The laid the bags on the table in front of the stage. "I guess you've already figured out that these are your costumes," Mr. Drubek said. "When I call your name, please come forward."

The costumes, which were basically satin shirts with no sleeves, were really pretty. The girls had pink or blue, and the boys had yellow or green. The best part about them was the artificial sequins on the underside: red or navy blue for the girls, and orange or turquoise for the boys. We also had tie-on headbands that matched the shirts, and depending on our age, wristbands. The youngest kids didn't wear any, the middle kids wore one, and the oldest kids wore two. Finally, each shirt was marked with our initials near the collar on the back of the plain side, so we'd know whose shirt was whose.

We were going to rock the house for sure!

Later that day, we went to visit Jason in the hospital. We got off the elevator on the fourth floor and followed Steve, Diann, and Bebe down the hall to Jason's room.

"Remember when we fixed up the playroom at the hospital back home?" I whispered to Nancy.

She nodded. "Being in this hospital sure brings back memories, huh?"

"I'll say," I agreed. I remembered when I fell out of my treehouse at Mom's and had my spleen removed, not to mention how paranoid I was for a little while after I got out. That's something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

When we got outside Jason's room, Steve turned to us and said, "Now, kids, remember what the doctor said. He may be out of it, so keep your voices down, and try not to stay too long. The doctor has also requested that only five of you at a time—and two or three chaperones—can see him about ten minutes each. _Capisce?"_

We all agreed. The first ones to see Jason were my brothers, my two best friends, and I, and our chaperones were Mom, Kristy, and Diann.

Jason was fast asleep when we first saw him, and compared to the other day, it hardly looked like anything was wrong. Diann walked over to his bedside and gently touched his shoulder. "Jason?" she whispered.

"Mmm," Jason answered, his eyes closed.

"Jason, wake up."

"Mum, it's summer vacation," Jason grumbled. My friends and I exchanged glances.

"Jason, baby, look who's here."

Jason's emerald eyes fluttered open, and he yawned. When he looked in our direction, he gave us one of his famous smiles. "Hey," he said softly.

"Hi, Jason," I said as I played with his ring. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm getting my strength back, thanks to moving my legs up and down in bed, as well as the nurse having me get up and walk around both yesterday and today. And let me tell you, she's not an easy person to argue with," he said, coughing and wheezing. "Sorry, I have to keep doing this to clear my lungs."

"Oh, I see," Hannie said.

"If we're _really _careful, could we give you a hug?" Andrew asked.

"If you're careful," Jason answered. "Whatever you do, stay away from my stomach, or I'll be really upset with you." Of course he was grinning, but I also knew he meant what he said.

After each of us had a turn to hug Jason, the nurse, a pretty Filipino woman with a name tag that read "Jo" came in. She took the blood pressure cuff down from the wall and checked Jason's blood pressure, then let the stethoscope dangle from her neck. When she looked up and saw us, she commented, "Well, I see you've got some visitors."

"Yes, ma'am," Hannie answered. "We're from Stoneybrook."

"Stoneybrook? Oh, yeah, you're in that competition," Jo said as she put the Thermo-Scan in Jason's ear to take his temperature. "98.6," she read, then put her stethoscope back on.

"Um, excuse me, but how soon do you think Jason will be released from the hospital?" David Michael wanted to know.

"Well, the doctor says that since his appendix didn't burst, he stands a pretty good chance of being released sometime tomorrow," the nurse answered as she helped Jason lean forward so she could listen to his lungs.

"So, will he still be able to make it to the competition?" Hannie asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," Jo answered, helping Jason lie back down and checking his pulse. "The doctor says he still needs plenty of rest, so I'm afraid he'll have to miss it."

"No, he won't," David Michaell said. "Mr. Drubek told us in advance that it was going to be on TV, so he'll still get to see us."

"That's good," the nurse said. "I'm sure you kids will do a good job."

"Thanks," Nancy said.

Just then, the loudspeaker out in the hall started blaring, "Dr. Walsh, please report to Trauma One. Dr. Walsh to Trauma One, stat." (I should also mention that David Michael whispered to Hannie, "Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard." She got a good laugh.)

"That's my cue," the nurse said quickly as she headed for the door. "Break a leg, kids." And she was gone in a flash as Mom started tapping her watch.

"Well, our ten minutes are almost up," Nancy said. "Oh, the rest of us are outside waiting to see you. We'll send the next group in now."

"Now, don't go back to sleep until after we've left," I teased as I squeezed his hand.

"Okay, I won't," Jason said, grinning again.

"See you later, Jason," Andrew said, giving a kiss on the forehead, then following us out the door. Dru, Hank, Pamela, Scott, and Bobby started for the door, followed by Steve and Seth.

I was glad Jason would still get to see us, even if he couldn't make it to the actual competition.


	11. The Good News

_**CHAPTER 11: The Good News**_

__After we'd all gotten a chance to see Jason, we got back on the bus to go back to the hotel. For some reason, I decided to sit with Dru. Ever since she and her mom first moved to Stoneybrook, we'd become good friends with each other.

"Jason really looks great, doesn't he?" Dru asked, offering me a stick of gum.

"Oh, yeah," I agreed, taking it and popping it in my mouth.

"Can I tell you something? And if I do, will you promise not to tell the others?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well," Dru said, chewing on her gum, "when I went up to Jason, I could see the tape on his stomach, and I asked him if I could touch it."

"Really? I hope you were careful."

"I was," she answered. "I also wondered if it hurt a lot, and what it looked like under the tape."

"I'll bet it looked pretty gross," I commented. Even though I really didn't want to know what it looked like, I couldn't help feeling a little curious.

Then Dru decided to change the subject. "You know, Karen, when we were at that hospital, I couldn't help feeling somewhat fascinated, knowing that people had died there. Do you know what reincarnation is?"

"You mean, coming back as something else?" I asked. I used to believe that cats really did have nine lives, and after Boo-Boo died, I imagined him coming back to life as a whole new kitten.

"Yeah," Dru answered. "I really believe in that stuff. In fact, my Uncle Tim once told me that in a previous life, he'd been a soldier in the French Revolution. I thought he was pulling my leg at first, but when we saw _Les Miserables _in Stamford last fall, I noticed how much he was into the performance, and that made me believe him."

"Wow," I murmured. I was just awestruck. After Dru told me this, I wondered if there really was such a thing as reincarnation, and if so, I wondered what, or who, I'd come back as.

The next day, the day we'd all been waiting, and worked so hard for, had finally arrived. At 7:30 on the dot, the phone rang. This was obviously our wake-up call, because Mom picked up the receiver and hung up aftger only five seconds. "Time to get up, kids," she called, hurrying into the bathroom.

I woke Andrew, and got out of bed. After I put my glasses on, I went to the closet bar to make sure that my outfit was still in place, and there it was: red T-shirt with dark blue jeans on the hanger, white Chuck Taylors with red laces on the floor. "Perfect," I said to myself. As soon as Mom came out of the bathroom, I grabbed my clothes and went in to take my shower.

Half an hour later, we were all assembled in the lobby, waiting for our chaperones. No sooner had they arrived, the desk clerk called Steve over. "Mr. Everett, I just got off the phone with your wife," he ssaid. "Your stepson has just been released from the hospital."

All of us kids cheered, high-fived, and jumped around like we had Jell-O down our pants. We were so glad to hear this news.

"And don't worry," the desk clerk went on, "the hospital has taken the liberty of calling a cab for them, so you'll see them when you get back. Oh, and kids? Break a leg."

"Thank you," we chorused.

"Thanks for the message," Steve added. Then, turning to us, he said, "Okay, kids, let's get this show on the road."

Man, you've never seen anyone run out of that lobby and onto that bus faster than we did.


	12. Showtime!

_**CHAPTER 12: Showtime!**_

We arrived at the school about 45 minutes later. As soon as we got off the bus and went inside, we were met at the check-in table by one of the teachers who worked there. He had thinning, graying hair, tortoise-shell glasses, and was wearing a dark blue suit. "Good morning," he smiled, in a fairly thick English accent. "Welcome to Roosevelt High. I'm Mr. Vincent, and you must be the Stoneybrook Kids."

"In the flesh," Mr. Drubek answered as some of us nodded.

"This way, please," Mr. Vincent said, and led us down the hall to one of the classrooms.

On our way down the hall, I couldn't help noticing how spotlessly white the walls and ceiling in the hallway were. The lockers were a very dull bluish-gray, but what really caught my attention was the rust-colored carpeting on the floor. None of the schools in Stoneybrook had this, not even Stoneybrook Academy.

We got to our assigned room, #115, which was actually two rooms in one. In the center of the room, there was a track on the ceiling with those black panels on it, which reminded me of the ER cubicles at the hospital back home. This was so that the boys and girls wouldn't have to change in front of each other. Our costumes were hanging on the panels: boys on the left, and girls on the right.

"We'll be back in a few minutes, okay?" Mr. Vincent said, then left us alone to get dressed.

"Well, this is it," I told my two best friends.

"Yup," Nancy agreed. Just then, Becca came over to us.

"I just wanted to wish you guys luck," she said, pulling on her wristbands.

"Thanks, Becca," Hannie smiled. The four of us stood in a circle and squeezed hands. That's something that my friends and I do to psyche each other up.

When I stepped out into the hall, I saw Rick going over the dance steps. "All set?" I asked, walking over to him.

"Yeah," he answered. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

Just then, Jackie came out of the boys' side of the room. "Mr. Drubek says vocal warm-ups are in five minutes," he told us.

"All right," Rick said. Then, turning to me, he asked, "You nervous?"

"A little," I answered. "I'm just glad Jason will get to see us perform."

"Yeah, I saw how you, Bebe, and David Michael came to his aid when he collapsed at the restaurant. If I'd been there, you would've been reduced to doing the 'It's going to be all right' bit from _Airplane!"_

I smiled, then he continued, "I, uh—I just wanted to say I'm glad we get to sing together, and uh...(AHEM) I think you're going to be terrific."

I was so touched when he said that. I stood up on my toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Break a leg, Rick," I said tenderly.

"Thanks. You, too," he grinned. He sure was different from when we were seven. I think we all are.

Soon, it was our turn to perform. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, all the way from Stoneybrook, Connecticut, the Stoneybrook Kids!" the principal announced.

As soon as the music started, we all ran out on stage, grinning and clapping to the beat, and launched right into "Proud Mary". Despite the bright lights in our eyes, I clearly remember seeing Mom, Seth, and Kristy sitting in the middle of the second row, and they were loving what they were seeing. I know Jason was, too.

After we finished "September" (no, David Michael's voice didn't crack...yet), the boys went behind the set to change their shirts around, and us girls went into "Love Will Keep Us Together" by the Captain & Tennille. I already knew this song, because it was played at Mom and Seth's wedding when I was almost five, and to this day, it's still one of my favorites. In fact, I'd like to hear it at my own wedding someday.

After the song ended, the rest of us left Pamela alone onstage to sing "Close to You" by the Carpenters. And you know something? Even though the two of us never really got along, even I had to admit that her voice was just wonderful. The audience must have thought so, too, because when she finished, I'm laying bets that she got a standing ovation. In fact, if I were in that audience, too, I'd be the first one standing.

Next, it was Johnny's turn. "Go get 'em," Hank whispered.

"Thanks, mate," Johnny whispered back, then rushed out on stage. He sang "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing", and he sang it in the same annoyingly high, nasal voice as the artist who had it, whatever his name was. Other than that, he did a good job.

While the boys went onstage for "ABC", us girls flipped our shirts around. "Are you guys ready for your songs?" I asked my friends.

Nancy nodded. "Nick and I have been practicing ours a _lot," _she said.

"Me, too," Hannie agreed. "Hey, did you guys know that the song 'Ben' is about a rat?"

"No way! Really?" Natalie whispered. "I didn't know that! Did you, Karen?"

I started to answer her, but I was interrupted by Andrew doing his spoken part, as well as a little girl in the audience, maybe around his age, saying, "Oh, my God, he _likes _me!"

The four of us erupted into stifled giggles. "Hey, what's so funny?" Rosie whispered. When Natalie whispered into Rosie's ear, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Between giggles, she managed to gasp out, _"Do not _tell Jenny." And we all pinky-swore that we wouldn't.

After "ABC", the boys left Jackie alone onstage to sing "Old Time Rock and Roll". He did a great job. In fact, I never once heard him trip, drop the microphone, or make a mistake, and _that's _saying something. Best of all, he wasn't dancing around in his underwear and singing into a hairbrush. I was really proud of him. I'm pretty sure Kristy and Jessi were, too.

Hannie was next, and I still can't believe that a song as beautiful as "Ben" is about, of all things, a rat. Oh, I hope Claire and Johnny don't mind me saying this, but Claire's sister,Mallory, who happens to be a friend of Kristy's, likes that song, mostly because she's dating Johnny's brother Ben.

Later on, Nick and Nancy started into their duet, "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart". Even though I had a bird's-eye view, I could tell that both of them were really into it, and the way those two harmonized, to die for.

The next chorus member was "I'll Be There". Just like we'd done back in Stoneybrook, the other kids gathered behind Rick and me during the third verse. By the way, on the Jackson 5 recording, there's a part in the song where Michael says, "Just look over your shoulder, honey." I had said that during rehearsals and the concert, like I was supposed to, but considering what we'd just experienced over the past few days, I decided to change it. Without thinking about how Mr. Drubek would take it, I looked into a nearby camera and said, "We love you, Jason."

I wanted Jason to know that we were thinking of him, and that's exactly what he wanted to hear.


	13. After the Show

_**CHAPTER 13: After the Show**_

__We ran offstage, with the applause still ringing in our ears, and back to the dressing rooms. As we went down the hall, we were laughing, cheering, and whooping it up. Claire, Hank, and Becca were even doing cartwheels (both one and two-handed), back handsprings, and walking on their hands. We were so pumped, and I'm pretty sure I heard someone reminding us to use our indoor voices at _least _once or twice. As if that were possible!

"Wasn't that great?" Bobby asked as we arrived at the room.

"Yeah," Scott answered.

"I haven't heard that much cheering since our show back in Stoneybrook!" Natalie cried happily.

"Yeah," Scott repeated.

"Is that all you can say?" Hank asked.

"Yeah," Scott laughed, and the boys went to their side of the room to change.

"Oh, man, Andrew was so cute out there!" Rosie exclaimed as we changed back into our regular clothes.

"I'll say," I grinned. "That girl's going to be blushing for a _week!"_

"Oh, definitely," Dru agreed. "I had no idea your little brother had it in him."

"Yeah, he sure has such a strong voice for such a little kid," Pamela agreed.

When she said that, I won't lie to you, I was completely taken aback. After all, this was the same girl who, for some reason, couldn't stand me, and felt that it was her duty to keep her nose in the air 24/7. In fact, I actually used to believe that if it ever rained, she'd drown. And after everything that had just happened, she, of all people, found it within herself to give my own little brother a compliment.

"Thanks, Pamela," I said. "And, uh—I think you did a great job yourself."

Pamela's face brightened. "Thanks, Karen," she said softly. Right then and there, I realized what was happening: after all those years of hating each other's guts the way we did, we were finally burying the hatchet.

"Come here, you," Pamela grinned, pulling me to her and hugging me. Peace at last!

As soon as we finished changing, we took our seats in the auditorium. I found a seat next to Kristy, and she handed me a program.

"You guys _rocked!" _she whispered ecstatically. "And did you hear that one girl when Andrew did his part in 'ABC'?"

"Yeah, and I was behind the set, too," I said. "I just wish I could've seen her face."

Kristy laughed and nodded. "Well, the next group is about to perform," she told me, and we turned our attention to the stage.

The next group was called the Holograms, and they were from Toronto, Canada. (Bebe once told me that she'd been born there, and moved to Long Island with her dad when she was a baby.) There were twenty-six of them, thirteen boys and thirteen girls. Their costumes were really something. The boys had on white satin short-sleeved shirts, red pants, red socks, and black jazz shoes. The girls had on the same style shirts, only red and long-sleeved, and they also had on white shorts, nude pantyhose, and tan character shoes.

Their show was fantastic. One song in particular really got me, and it was called "Never Can Say Goodbye", which is also a Jackson 5 song. During the song, I noticed Pamela staring dreamily at the boy who was singing lead. He looked like he was around our age, and he had light reddish-brown hair, like the Pikes, brown eyes, braces, and some freckles on his nose. He was really throwing himself into the song, too. The only drawback was that he had a mullet. Oh, well.

I don't remember much about the other groups from that day. All I know is, today was just a blast.

After the last group of the day performed, we got on the bus to go back to the hotel. I knew we should've been exhausted from the events of the day, but we were too keyed up to even think about taking a nap.

In fact, I don't know why, but a bunch of us got the brilliant idea to sing old TV theme songs. When Jackie, Jamie, and Scott started singing the _Sanford & Son _theme song, I looked over my shoulder and saw Kristy storm to the back of the bus, and she wasn't too happy.

"NO SINGING ON THE BUS, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" she shouted.

In no time flat, it was so quiet back there you could hear a pin drop. It just goes to show that whenever Kristy Thomas tells you to do something, she doesn't mean maybe!


	14. Back at the Hotel

_**CHAPTER 14: Back At The Hotel**_

__It was already dusk by the time we got back to the hotel. As soon as we got off the bus, all of us kids headed straight to the Everetts' room, and Jamie knocked on the door. It opened, and there was Diann. "Hi, kids," she said. "Come on in. Jason will be glad to see you. (Call me crazy, but when Diann opened the door, I half-expected Jamie to say "hi-hi", like he did when he was four.)

When we stepped into the room, we saw Jason sitting cross-legged on the bed, with his back to us, resting his chin on his fists, and looking out the window. "Hi, Jason," Scott said.

Jason jumped a bit, then very quickly started wiping his eyes with his hands. I could tell he'd been crying. "Is he okay?" I whispered to Diann.

"Aye," she answered. "He's just been through a lot, that's all."

Jason turned to face us. "Hi, you guys," he said. "How did it go?"

"Oh, it was great, Jason!" Jamie answered excitedly. "That audience was really into it, too. They loved us!"

"That's great," Jason grinned. "I really enjoyed it, too."

"You mean...?" I asked.

Jason looked up at his mother. "We saw the competition on TV this afternoon," Diann explained.

"I heard what you said, too, Karen," Jason added. "That really meant the world to me."

I went up to Jason, knelt beside him on the bed, and cradled his chin in my hand, just like he'd done when he was consoling me after Andrew's bike accident. "And I meant every word," I said solemnly, resting my head against his right temple. "We really _do _love you."

That did it. Jason started crying again, which set Natalie off, too. (No, she doesn't snort anymore. Come on, people!) She sat on his left knee, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's all right, honey," she whispered, wiping away his tears. I reached over and hugged her to me by holding onto her arm. Before too long, we were all hugging each other, and some of us were wiping away tears, mostly because we were so glad that Jason was all right.

"Oh, on a more upnote," Bebe interrupted, "Jason's appendectomy went very smoothly. The cab brought him and Diann back here about ten minutes after you all left this morning. And, uh, he's probably going to kill me for telling you this, but when he woke up from surgery, he started singing 'Good Morning, Starshine'."

Well, needless to say, we practically gave ourselves hernias from laughing so hard. Jason got a bit of a laugh, too. "I really did do that, didn't I?" he asked sheepishly. Bebe nodded.

"Hey, don't feel too bad, Jason," Nick said, pulling himself together. "Mal told me that when I woke up after my appendectomy, I stared quoting the 'Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges' bit from _Blazing Saddles."_

"And when Kristy had _hers, _she thought she was at a BSC meeting," David Michael remembered. (By the way, Kristy once told him that if he ever told anyone, she'd personally beat the living crap out of him. But considering that he only told us, I think she should spare him of that treatment.)

"Well, anyway," Jason said, quieting us down, "I just wanted to tell you that you all did a great job, and I'm proud of each and every one of you."

"All right, kids," Diann said. "I appreciate you coming to visit, but Jason needs his rest, so I think it's time to say good night, yes?"

One at a time, we all gave Jason a hug (most of us), a kiss (the girls, Johnny, Jamie, and Andrew), or a Kristy arm-punch (most of the boys) before returning to our rooms. I, of course, kissed the scar on his face.

Today was such a wonderful day.


	15. Sightseeing

_**CHAPTER 15: Sightseeing**_

The next morning, we had to get up early, but not quite as early as the day before. We were going sightseeing today. The first thing I did was make sure that my camera was ready to go, and that I had spare batteries and an extra memory card—both of which I did. I was going to have a _lot _of pictures to take today.

I was dressed and ready by 8:30. When I stepped out into the hall, I saw a bellhop pushing a wheelchair down the corridor toward the Everetts' room. Feeling curious, I decided to follow him. And no, I wasn't planning to spy on him. Do you really expect me to act seven years old for the rest of my life. Seriously.

Like I'd thought, the bellhop with the wheelchair stopped outside the Everetts' room, and knocked on the door. "Room service," he called out, sounding exactly like the concierge from _Home Alone 2. _I'm just glad he said that, instead of "Housekeeping", because if he had, I would've started singing "Holly Jolly Christmas", even if it was the middle of summer!

Then he turned and saw me. "Good morning, Miss Brewer," he said. "How are you today?"

"Fine," I answered, then I gestured toward the wheelchair.

"Oh, this?" he said. "Young Mr. Everett's doctor recommended it, with his recovering from surgery and all."

I nodded as Diann opened the door and took the wheelchair inside. "Karen? Would you like to come in?" she asked, handing the bellhop his tip.

"Sure," I said. I stepped into the room, where I found Jason dressed and sitting on the bed. "Good morning, Jason."

"Hi," he answered as Diann and Bebe helped him into the wheelchair just as Steve was coming out of the bathroom.

"Are you looking forward to going sightseeing today?"

He nodded. "I've always wanted to see Washington, but I don't mind doing it in a wheelchair, though."

I patted his arm and left the room. When I returned to our room, Mom, Seth, and Andrew were coming out. "Ready, kids?" Seth asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Andrew said excitedly. I hadn't seen him this excited since he got his first bike with training wheels. Best of all, there was no way he could hurt himself this time.

I was pretty excited, too, to tell you the truth.

After breakfast, we got on the bus to go downtown. On the way, Mr. Drubek stood at the front of the bus with the microphone, giving us some last-minute instructions.

"Now, remember," he began, "Washington is a big city, and it's very easy to get lost. Whatever you do, please stay with your groups at all times. Also, we'll be meeting back at the bus in exactly two hours, and we'll decide what to do for lunch. Are there any questions?"

Well, there weren't any, and the bus pulled up to the curb beside the Treasury Building (which, if I'm not mistaken, is on the back of the 10-dollar bill). As soon as we got off the bus, we split into our groups: Hannie, Nancy, their moms, Andrew, and I went with Mom and Seth; David Michael, Scott, Dru, and the Pikes went with Kristy; Becca Pamela, and Rosie went with Jessi; Johnny and Jamie went with Jenny, Natalie, and their moms; Rick and Jackie went with the Everetts; and Bobby and Hank went with Mr. Drubek.

"Remember, two hours!" Mr. Drubek called out as we walked away.

About half an hour later, we were walking away from the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial when I saw a family with two kids, a girl who looked about eleven and a boy who looked about nine. Something about the girl looked vaguely...familiar. "Amanda Delaney?" I mouthed.

She turned around. Sure enough, it was Amanda, all right, but she sure didn't look the same way she did when she was eight. Not only was she taller, but her hair was shorter and had dark brown streaks in it, as well as two earrings in each ear. She was also wearing a neon-green top with quarter-length sleeves, a blue demin miniskirt, and green and white Crocs. When she saw me, her face just lit up like the Fourth of July. "Hey, Karen!" she shouted.

"Amanda!" I exclaimed as we ran to each other and gave each other a hug. It was great to see her again! It seemed like only yesterday that I watched her house being emptied. It was one of the saddest days of my life. And now, here she was. What are the odds, huh?

"How have you been?" I asked.

"Oh, I've been doing all right," Amanda said. "Lawerenceville's been a great place to live, too. Oh, you won't believe this, but Max and I now have a baby sister!"

"Get out of here!" I cried. "Really?"

Amanda nodded. "Her name's Bonnie, and she just turned two last month."

"So, where is she?" I asked.

"Back at the hotel with the nanny," Max answered. "She's got a cold."

Just then, Hannie and Nancy came over to us. "Amanda!" they squealed, and the three of them started hugging and bouncing up and down in a circle. Apparently, Hannie had long since gotten over her hostile feelings toward Amanda.

A little while later, the Everetts and their group happened to be passing by. I waved them over to where we were standing.

"Amanda, this is Jason and Bebe Everett and their parents," I said. As she shook hands with them, I could also tell that she was wondering why Jason was in the wheelchair. Before she could ask, Jason answered her.

"I had my appendix out a few days ago," he explained, "and the doctor told me to take it easy for a while."

"Oh," Amanda said. "I had my tonsils out last fall, and I couldn't talk for two days. The only upside was that I got all the ice cream I wanted." Then she checked her watch and said, "Well, I have to run. We're on our way to the Capitol."

"Okay. Nice meeting you."

"You, too." After a quick picture of the four of us girls, Amanda ran off to join her family, and my friends and I went back to our group. Then we went our separate ways.

It's interesting, the places you can run into old friends, isn't it?

The next place we stopped was the Lincoln Memorial. Even though it was a beautiful summer day, it was still pretty windy, even more so than Chicago. (Seth once had a short-term job transfer there, and took all of us. I stayed for a little while, then returned to Stoneybrook, because I got too homesick. I stayed with Daddy and Elizabeth until they got back, which, coincidentally, was around the time Boo-Boo died.) I'm just glad the wind wasn't blowing too hard, because one wrong step and I'd be in the water.

When we got inside, I glanced over my shoulder and saw two African-American teenage boys who looked around Bebe or Jessi's age, sitting on the top step. One had dreadlocks that came down to his shoulders, and was wearing an Oakland Raiders jersey and black denim shorts. The other had a shaved head, a little gold ring in his left nostril, and was wearing a peach polo shirt and khakis. He was also talking on a cell phone.

I didn't think anything of it as we looked up at the statue of Abraham Lincoln, but the next thing I heard was the sound of something hitting the floor and rolling to a stop near my foot. I looked down, and saw that it was a shiny gold ring. I picked it up to get a better look at it. It also had a ruby in the center, surrounded by tiny diamonds. It was really pretty.

"I wonder whose this is," I said to myself as I looked at it. I also saw the two boys looking around on the floor. Apparently, the ring belonged to one of them. "Excuse me, but did one of you lose this?" I asked them, holding out my hand.

The kid with the dreads turned around. "Yes," he said, in a pretty thick Jamaican accent. "Thank you very much." Then, as he put the ring back on his finger, his eyes widened. "Hey, I remember you! You're with the Stoneybrook Kids, aren't you?"

"Yeah," I answered. "How did you know?"

"We saw you perform yesterday," the shaved-head kid said. He also had the accent, as well as a slightly deeper voice. "You were great!"

"Thanks," I smiled.

"We're in the competition, too," the kid with the dreads said. "Our group is called the Company, and we're from Oakland."

Aha! So _that's _why he was wearing the jersey!

"My name's Manette Hughes, and this is my cousin, Blane," the kid with the dreads said.

"Karen Brewer," I said, shaking their hands.

"Oh, by the way, who's this Jason you were talking to?" Manette asked.

"He's one of our chaperones, and he had his appendix out a few days ago," I explained. "He was recovering back at our hotel."

"Oh, okay," Blane said. "How is he doing?"

"He's doing much better. He just has to take it easy for a while," I said.

"Karen?" Seth called. "Time to head back to the bus."

"Okay," I answered. Then I said to the two boys, "Well, I'd better get going. Nice meeting you."

"You, too," Manette said. "And thanks again for finding my ring."

"No problem," I said.

They seemed like nice boys. I wonder what their show is like?


	16. Class B Competes

_**CHAPTER 16: Class B Competes**_

When we got back to the hotel, I decided to visit Hannie and Nancy in their room. I told them about meeting Manette and his cousin at the Lincoln Memorial, their Jamaican accents, and the fact that they were from Oakland.

"Cool," Nancy said.

"Yeah," Hannie agreed. "I haven't seen you this excited about meeting someone new since the day we met Jason at the library back home."

"I know," I said, then I changed the subject. "Well, I think it's time to call it a night. Remember, the Class B groups are performing tomorrow." (By the way, Class B is the middle school groups, and Class A is the high school groups. We're in Class C, the elementary school groups.)

"Right," Nancy said. "Well, good night."

"'Night, you guys," I said, and went out the door to go back to my room.

When I got back to my room, Andrew was already in bed, Seth was in the shower, and Mom had just finished checking her e-mail. "Oh, Karen, you've got something from Sam," she told me.

All _right! _I hadn't heard from him since Easter. He's been going to NYU on a basketball scholarship, and working on his journalism degree. (I'm told that his real father was a sportswriter, too.) Anyway, here's what I read:

_Hey, Karen! How are you? I've been doing all right. I haven't been doing much, just school and work. BTW, Charlie and I saw your performance on TV yesterday, and it was FANTASTIC! I especially liked what Andrew did. Imagine our own little bro doing something like that. LOL! Well, I could sit here and type till the cows come home, but I'm working a double-shift at Zide's. Say hi to everyone for us, okay?_

_Sam_

It was great to hear from Sam. I couldn't wait to tell him about our trip, I'll definitely tell him how it went, and about Jason.

The next morning, we got to sleep in a little, but we still had to be up in time to see the Class B groups perform. On the way to the bus, I saw Steve pushing Jason in the wheelchair toward the SUV. He was looking better every day, and I think we were all hoping that he'd be out of the wheelchair in time for the awards dinner. I think he was, too.

When we arrived at the school, we got our programs and took our seats in the auditorium. My friends and I looked through ours to see who was in the competition that day. Of all the Class B groups, the one that really made an impression on me was a group from Germany called the Sound System. Now, they were a _long _way from home!

Well, they were the first group to perform that day, and what a group they were! Their show's theme was science fiction/fantasy, and their costumes definitely looked the part. The boys had on dark gray tux pants, black long-sleeved shirts with no collars, black socks,and jazz shoes, and really bright red vests with two big S's on both sides. The girls had on dark gray tank tops with the same kind of vests ast he boys, gray hip-hugger pants, black stockings, and black character shoes.

I don't remember much about their program, except for this one song called "Mr. Roboto", which is by this band Jason likes called Styx. Not only was their singing fantastic, but their moves were so precise and lightning-fast, it was almost as if they really _were_ robots!

"These guys are _amazing!" _I whispered to my friends. Of course, they didn't hear me. They were both staring at the group in amazement.

The last group to perform that day was the Dream Team from Cleveland, Ohio. There were twenty-four of them, twelve boys and twelve girls, and their show's theme was Broadway. The boys had on black tux pants with a white stripe down each side, black and white sequined vests, white short-sleeved dress shirts with black bowties, black socks, and jazz shoes. The girls had on these dresses with black and white sequined tops and white square-dance length skirts, nude pantyhose, and tan character shoes.

Their show opened with "Pinball Wizard", which is from this rock opera called _Tommy, _which was written by this group called the Who. (Kristy once told me that on the day she found out that her dad died, she was at the Rosebud Café with Charlotte and Bebe, and they happened to overhear one of the busboys singing this while he was playing pinball.) The boy who sang lead on the verses looked like he was about twelve years old. This one girl, who looked around Bebe's age, sang "I Don't Know How To Love Him" from _Jesus Christ Superstar _(my second-favorite musical of all time, with the first being _Annie, _of course). The girls sang "It's The Hard-Knock Life" from _Annie, _and the boys sang "With A Little Bit of Luck" from _My Fair Lady. _There was even a duet between two thirteen-year-olds, a boy and a girl, "All I Ask of You" from _Phantom of the Opera. _It reminded me of when Daddy and Elizabeth had taken our big-house family to New York last Thanksgiving. Emily wasn't old enough to go with us, so she stayed with Nannie.

Their show finale was "One" from _A Chorus Line. _In that number, half of them did a hat-and-cane dance. Their curtain call was really awesome, too. After they leaned forward, they crouched down, and starting from the left, jumped into the air like jack-in-the-boxes.

"Whoa," my friends and I said together. We'd never seen anything like that before.

I don't remember much about the other groups from that day. All I know is that each group was amazing in its own right.


	17. Class A Competes

_**CHAPTER 17: Class A Competes**_

__That evening back at the hotel, Andrew and I were on our way to the vending machines when we passed by the Everetts' room. The door was open a crack, and I could hear Jason's voce saying, "Look, Mum, how much longer do I have to ride in this wheelchair? It's getting bloody annoying, not to mention embarrassing."

"I've got an idea, Jason," Diann said. "Since you're showing a lot of signs of improvement, why don't we just push you up to the door of the school, and we'll let you walk around as long as you hang onto someone's arm. How's that sound?"

That sounded like a great idea. Ever since Jason was released from the hospital, he's had to stay in that chair, and I could tell that he was getting sick of it. I know I would be.

"Okay. Fair enough," Jason said.

_Good for you, Jason, _I thought. I was glad he wouldn't have to stay in that chair much longer.

The next day was the last day of the competition. The Class A groups were finally going to get a chance to strut their stuff. We had to get up early, as usual, and after breakfast, we were off.

When we got to the school, just as I'd hoped, Diann kept her promise to Jason. When we got to the front door, she set the brake on the chair, then she and Kristy helped Jason to his feet, and he clung to Kristy's arm. I could be wrong, but I think he likes her. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they decided to get married someday.

When we got to the auditorium, we took our seats, and the competition soon got underway. The first group to perform was a group from a town in Ohio called Coshocton, and they were called Essence. They were good, but they weren't nearly as good as the Company, which was the last group to perform.

The first thing I noticed about them was that they were an all-black group. Their costumes were really something, too. The guys had on black skin-tight short-sleeved jumpsuits with red, black, and green sequins on the collars and around the sleeves. The girls had on black satin knee-length dresses with the same color sequins on the top half, nude pantyhose, and black character shoes. Their performance was the most electrifying one I've ever seen.

The highlight of their show was "Dancing Machine" by—you guessed it—the Jackson 5. It was the guys' number, and let me tell you, their choreography just blew our minds. They did this really cool dance called the Robot, where their bodies were moving—mechanically? That's the right word, isn't it? What really surprised me was when Manette, the kid with the dreads, did this _unbelieveable _spin on the balls of his feet. He was spinning so fast that his dreadlocks were literally suspended in midair, and when he stopped, they flopped down over his shoulders. A few of them landed landed in his face, but with a defiant sneer, he brushed them away and continued.

Jessi and I both gasped, then looked at each other in amazement. Also, while Manette was singing, I noticed Jessi staring dreamily at him. Everyone in that auditorium was clapping and moving to the beat. I think I might have seen some of them dancing in the aisles. In my opinion, that was not only their best number, but they were definitely a candidate for the Grand Champion award.

On the way back to the hotel, we couldn't stop talking about the Company, if we tried. "Weren't those guys totally amazing?" Jenny exclaimed. "I've never seen anyone dance like that before."

"Yeah, no kidding," Natalie agreed. "What did you think of that guy with the dreadlocks? Wasn't he just awesome?"

"I'll say!" Becca grinned. "And did you notice how Jessi was staring at him?"

"Oh, yeah; that guy," Pamela said. "He was such a babe!"

"I didn't," Rosie said. "I was too busy getting into the song. And let's not forget that one group called the M & M's."

"Why did they have to pick a name that sounds like candy?" Bobby asked. "That's like if we decided to call ourselves the Skittles."

"Well, in our costumes, that's kind of what we looked like," David Michael pointed out. The rest of us rolled our eyes and groaned, even though he had a point.

All the while, I looked out the window and thought about the competition in general. I thought everyone had done a great job, and wondered what awards win, especially them .

Later that evening, we went swimming in the hotel pool. I kind of wished that Jason could've gone with us, but I also knew that he still needed his rest. Oh, well.

Anyway, that particular pool was amazing. It's shaped like a giant crescent moon, and has a low-dive, a high-dive, a sprinkler right in the middle, and a spiral-shaped slide. Andrew loved that slide so much, I think he must have gone down it at least twenty times.

"Hey, Kristy," I called. "Kristy, do you have your camera with you?"

"Yeah, it's under my towel," she said. "I'll be right back." She climbed out of the pool (no ladders for her), and went over to the bench to get it.

"Okay, you guys, let's get ready," I said to my friends. Just then, Kristy turned around. Rick, Scott, and Nick had lifted us up onto their shoulders, and we put our arms around each other.

"Okay, Kristy!" Hannie shouted, and Kristy snapped the picture. Almost as soon as she'd finished, Bobby and Jackie popped up from under the water and started tickling our feet. We were struggling to keep our balance from laughing so hard, and before we knew it, we fell into the water. Hannie went first, and she pulled Nancy and me right in with her! Call me crazy, but instead of clobbering those two, we were just laughing hysterically.

All in all, a great day.


	18. The Awards Dinner

_**CHAPTER 18: The Awards Dinner**_

On Friday after breakfast, I saw the Everetts pushing Jason in the wheelchair toward the SUV. "Jason has his follow-up with the doctor today," Steve explained when I saw them.

"Good," I said. "Do you think he won't needthe chair anymore?"

"He shouldn't," Steve said.

"Good luck," I called as they left.

When I got back to our room, I sat down at the computer. It was time to send an e-mail to Sam:

_Hi, Sam. How is everything? Tomorrow is the awards dinner. Wish us luck!_

_Oh, there's something I forgot to tell you. Jason needed his appendix out last week. You see, he hadn't been feeling well for quite a while, and when we stopped somewhere for lunch, he collapsed outside the restrooms and was rushed to the hospital, where he had an appendectomy. He was released three days later, and was recovering back at our hotel on the competition day. That was why I told him, on national TV, that we loved him. He's doing much better now, despite the fact that he had to sit in a wheelchair while we were sightseeing. Hopefully, he should be out of it by now._

_Well, I should go now. Tell everybody I love them._

_Karen_

I hit the "Send" button, and hoped that Sam would get it as quickly as possible.

That's when I felt a headache coming on. I took off my glasses and closed my eyes for a minute. Luckily, this headache was nothing like the ones I'd had before I got glasses. I also started to feel very sleepy. After putting my glasses back on, I sat on the bed and started taking off my shoes and socks. Then I saw Mom coming out of the bathroom. She was wearing her bathing suit and carrying a towel and her copy of _Oliver Twist. _"Are you all right, honey?" she asked, laying a hand on my forehead. "You feel a little warm."

"I've just got a headache," I told her, laying my glasses on the nightstand and lying back on the bed.

"Oh," she said. "I was just going for a dip in the pool. Do you want me to stay here with you instead?"

I shook my head. "I just want to take a nap. Wake me when the Everetts get back, okay?"

"Sure," Mom said, feeling my forehead one last time before she left the room.

I turned onto my side and was asleep in less than a minute. _If only this headache would just go away, _I thought as I drifted off.

The next thing I knew, I felt a hand on my forehead, and heard Jason's voice saying, "Karen?"

I opened my eyes, and there he was. "Hi," I said.

"Are you all right? You feel a little warm."

"I've just got a headache," I told him, "but that's about it."

"Oh," he said. "I'll be right back."

He got up and went to the bathroom, only to return a minute later, shaking one of those old-fashioned mercury thermometers. After placing it in my mouth, he sat with me for those three minutes, alternating between brushing my hair out of my face and laying a hand on my forehead.

When he removed the thermometer, he looked at it. "99.8," he read. "Hmm...do you feel up to going out to lunch with us?"

"Sure," I said, sitting up. He handed me my shoes and socks. I put them on, then reached over to the nightstand for my glasses. When I put _those _on, I looked at the clock. It was almost noon! "How did you get in?"

"When we were coming down the hall, we saw your mum at the cappuccino machine," he answered. "She said that she thought you might be coming down with something, so she asked me to check on you."

"Oh, okay," I said. I tried to stand up, but couldn't.

"Here, let me help you," Jason said, grabbing my arm and helping me to my feet. That's when I noticed that he wasn't in the wheelchair.

"I'm glad you don't need the wheelchair anymore," I said.

"Aye," Jason agreed. He put an arm around my shoulders, and we walked out of the room. Hopefully, some lunch would give me my second wind.

All that night and the next day, Mom constantly worried about me. "Mom, I'm fine," I kept saying, and feeling like a broken record.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

_"Yes," _I said. "I want to go to the awards dinner."

The awards dinner, which was that evening, was going to be held in the gym at Roosevelt High, and all of the groups that had competed were going to be there. When we were getting ready to pack, Mr. Drubek reminded to pack some nice clothes for the dinner. I put on my favorite navy-blue short-sleeved dress, which Nannie had gotten me last Christmas, nude pantyhose, and black dress shoes with tiny heels, my first pair ever. Mom French-braided my hair, and even let me wear some of her perfume. "Just this once, okay?" she reminded me. I nodded. Before we left the room, Mom took my temperature, which was pretty normal, and made sure there was some Children's Tylenol in her purse. (I don't think she believed me when I told her I was feeling better. Hopefully, she won't turn into Mr. Spier.)

We assembled in the lobby later on, and I had to admit that we looked pretty nice. The boys had on short-sleeved shirts and dress pants. Some of them even had ties, but they were all wearing sneakers. Oh, well. The girls had on either dresses or blouses and skirts, pantyhose or tights, and dress shoes. Dru's outfit really stood out, though. She had on a white long-sleeved blouse, a black pleather miniskirt, black fishnet pantyhose, and black flats. "Well, here we go," she said.

"Yup," I agreed. I think we all wondered how we'd do.

The gym looked spectacular. There were streamers hanging from the ceiling and running along the tables, balloons were tied to the basketball hoops, and the tablecloths were sprinkled with glitter and confetti. The food was pretty good, too. They served Caesar salad with egg-salad sandwiches, Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes and canned carrots, and iced tea.

After dinner, the principal stood behind the podium. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he said. "First of all, I'd like to welcome you to the awards dinner. Before we start presenting the awards, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for competing. You've all done a remarkable job, and we hope to see you again next year."

With that, he started presenting the awards. First, each group was given a participation certificate, then the real awards were presented.

The first one was the Audience Favorite, which went to the Company. None of us were surprised, but we were surprised when we won for Best Costumes, and later on, Class C Champion. Essence won for Best Director, and we all thought for sure that Mr. Drubek would get that one.

There was even an award for Best Individual Performer, which meant that it would go to one person from each group. That really bothered me, because I knew that only one person would get that award. Anyway, the winners of that award that I remember are the girl from the Dream Team who sang "I Don't Know How To Love Him", a girl from Fire & Ice, who sang "Reflection" from _Mulan, _this one girl from Essence, Andrew from our group, and Manette from the Company.

In the Runner-Up division, Fire & Ice won for Class C (as you may have guessed, their theme had been Disney); this one group from San Diego, the Inferno, won for Class B (their theme had been Rock'n'Roll History), and the M & M's won for Class A. (By the way, M & M's is short for Melodymen & Melodettes, and they're from a town in Ohio called Cuyahoga Falls.)

Finally, they presented the really, _really _important awards. The Third Runner-Up went to Strike Force from Miami. The Second Runner-Up went to Essence, and to no one's surprise, the First Runner-Up went to the Sound System. The Grand Champion award went to the Company, who also won for Best Vocals.

I think we really made good on the awards, and I was especially proud of Andrew. He deserved that award.


	19. So Long, Washington!

_**CHAPTER 19: So Long, Washington!**_

__We were on cloud nine all the way back to the hotel, and just couldn't believe all the awards that we'd won. We were also pleased that all our hard work had paid off.

"Can you believe all the awards we got?" Claire asked. "Especially for our costumes! I couldn't believe it!"

"I know!" Rosie exclaimed. "I can't believe it, either!"

We all yakked about the competition and our awards all the way back to the hotel. Well, most of us did. I felt my headache coming back, so I laid my head back against the seat and closed my eyes.

"Are you all right, Karen?" Hannie asked, laying a hand on my cheek. "What's wrong?"

"I've just got a headache," I told her, opening my eyes.

"Poor thing," Nancy said, patting my hand.

Just then, I heard Mom's voice behind me, whispering, "Here, Karen." I turned around and saw that she had some Children's Tylenol in her hand, so I took it from her. After taking the pills, I glanced across the aisle, and saw that Andrew and Jenny had fallen asleep with their heads on each other's shoulders. Andrew's award was in his lap, and they were holding hands.

"Hey, you guys, look," I whispered.

"Oh, how cute!" Nancy exclaimed.

"I wish I had my camera," Hannie said.

I nodded. "I agree, but that's probably not a good idea." I didn't want to embarrass them. Still, I thought they looked cute.

The next morning, we got up around 6:30, and checked out of the hotel about an hour and a half later. Before we did, though, we made sure that the beds were made, the rooms were picked up, and that we had everything.

As soon as we turned in our keys and loaded our stuff into the luggage compartment on the bus, we got on. I saw Jason sitting all the way in the back. He looked _so _much better.

"Hi, Jason," I said. "Can I sit with you?"

He smiled, and patted the seat next to him. I sat down and laid my head on his shoulder, because I was feeling sick again. The next thing I felt was a hand on my forehead. I looked up, and saw Nancy.

"Are you all right, Karen?" she asked.

"I've just got a headache," I told her.

_"Oy," _she said. "Well, I'll go sit with Mom if you need me."

I nodded, and Nancy went to join her mother in the middle of the bus. Hannie and Natalie sat in front of us, and Diann sat in front of them. Mom, Seth, and Andrew sat across the aisle from us, but directly in front of the restrooms.

A few minutes later, I felt another hand on my forehead, and heard Mom's voice saying, "Would you like to sit with me, honey?"

"No, thanks," I mumbled.

"I'll take care of her, Mrs. Engle," Jason offered.

"Thank you, Jason," Mom said. "Oh, before I forget..." She reached into her purse, pulled out her own first-aid pouch, and handed it to Jason. "Just in case," she explained, then returned to her seat before Jason could thank her.

After Mr. Drubek, Jessi, and Kristy each did a quick head count, we were off.

As soon as we pulled out onto the highway, Mr. Drubek put in _Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, _which has been one of my favorite movies since I was six. Mr. Drubek also handed each of us a bag of trail mix, which was to tide us over until we could get a regular meal in Stoneybrook. I was still feeling a little sick, so I didn't eat much of mine.

"Are you all right?" Jason asked, laying a hand on my forehead. "Oh, you feel warm." He managed to open Mom's first-aid pouch, then just as his mother had done, pulled out the little thermometer strip and laid it across my forehead. When he removed it about thirty seconds later, he looked at it. "100.4," he read.

At that moment, Diann happened to be passing by on her way to the restroom. She also laid a hand on my forehead, then disappeared into the bathroom. She returned a few minutes later with a washcloth. "Here, Jason," she said. "See if this will help."

Jason presed the cloth against my forehead. It felt wonderful enough to put me to sleep. In fact, the last thing I heard before I fell asleep was Charlie Bucket saying "Whee!" in the Fizzy-Lifting Drinks scene. I'm just glad that Midgie wasn't there, because the last time we'd watched that movie at Mom's, that poor little dog was rolling around on the floor and howling up a storm.

As I drifted off, I was hoping I'd feel better soon.


	20. Welcome Home!

A/N: This is the last chapter.

_**CHAPTER 20: Welcome Home!**_

__I guess I must have slept for quite a while, because the next thing I felt was Jason's hand stroking my forehead, and heard his voice saying, "Karen, wake up, love. We're almost home."

"Wha...?" I said, opening my eyes. I found myself with my head in the crook of Jason's arm. I felt a little better, but not much.

"How are you feeling?" Jason asked, laying a hand on my forehead. "Hmm...still a little warm." He opened the pouch, took out the little thermometer strip, and laid it across my forehead again. "99.8."

Upon hearing that, I felt tears welling up in my eyes, because I remembered that Jason hadn't felt well on the day that we'd left for Washington. "Hey, Karen," he said. "Karen, it's all right. It's probably nothing. And look at it this way: at least it's not 101."

I smiled, wiped my eyes, and nodded as the bus pulled into the parking lot at the Y. Standing there in the rain, umbrellas in hand, were our families. Jason helped me to my feet and off the bus.

The first person I saw was Daddy. I ran up and threw my arms around him. "Are you all right?" he asked worriedly, laying a hand on my forehead. "You feel a little warm."

_That's a new one, _I thought, but instead, I just nodded. "I think so," I said as I saw Kristy and David Michael run into Nannie's and Elizabeth's arms.

While Daddy hugged Andrew, Emily ran up and threw her arms around my waist. "Hi, Karen! Hi!" she squealed. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you, too, Emily," I said as I regained my footing. And you know something? For the first time ever, I began to understand how Jason must have felt whenever Andrew or I ran up and jumped on him like that.

It was a little chaotic to see all of these parents and children hugging, and right in the middle of everything, I sneezed. "Oh, I hope you're not coming down with a cold, too," Mom said.

"I'm all right. I think I'm starting to feel a little better already," I said. And I was. At least my headache was gone, for now, anyway.

We got back in our van, and went to Daddy's house.

At Daddy's, there was a smorgasbord waiting for us: pizza, potato chips, celery sticks with either peanut butter or cream cheese, and soda, iced tea, water, or lemonade to drink. Since I wasn't feeling so hot, I hoped I wouldn't get sick on all this food, so I was careful about how much I had to eat. Johnny and Jackie, on the other hand, did the exact opposite. And I thought Sam ate constantly!

You want to hear something weird? Despite my not having much of an appetite, I was thirsty—a _lot_. I think Elizabeth had to make an extra pitcher of lemonade.

After we finished eating, we watched the videos of our performances, both at SES and the competition. When it got to Andrew's part in "ABC", Jenny looked straight at him and said, "I love you, too." Then she gave him a big wet smackeroo right on the cheek. And let me tell you, I'd never seen my little brother's face turn that shade of red in my life. At least he was laughing.

Before the party ended, all of us kids gathered beside the piano. I pulled out the piano bench and sat down, because I was still feeling a little run down. Hannie and Nancy stood on both sides of the bench, obviously keeping their distance from me, and Andrew and Jenny sat by my feet. I held the Best Costumes award, and my friends touched it from the sides. Andrew held his award, Rick held the participation certificate, and Mr. Drubek held the Class C Champion award. Each of the chaperones took turns taking our picture.

"Do you think they'll be done soon?" I whispered to Nancy.

"I hope so," she answered.

I won't lie to you, I was really missing Washington, but at the same time, I was glad to be back. I think Judy Garland said it best when she said, there's no place like home.

**THE END**


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